Tales of the ABOs
by snickerdood
Summary: With the pups away at a training camp for the summer, Ryder is left in Adventure Bay with Katie, Danny, and frenemy Sid Swashbuckle. Cue the unforgettable adventures, late night chats, spilling of deepest secrets, and a summer that will change them forever. (Based on my character headcanons; Ryder, Danny and Katie are fourteen, and Sid is fifteen) (pups will be in this later)
1. origins

"We need a club name," Katie said one night before taking a sip of her lemonade.

Danny frowned. "A club?"

Ryder raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware we were in a club."

Katie sat her drink between her knees as she sat up, eyes shining in the moonlight. "We meet here every night of the week, almost like we're an unofficial club."

Sid made a face. "Don't think I actually _like_ any of you. I'm just here because I'm bored," he declared and took a swing of his drink.

"I'm sure you could find better things to do than hang out with us," Ryder scoffed, and he took a drink to hide his smirk.

The pirate rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, I actually came here for the girl. I didn't know you and that red-haired dork would be here, too."

"Hey!" Danny cried.

Katie cocked an eyebrow in the air. "Sid, _you_ have red hair."

"Besides, everyone knows pirates are bigger dorks than daredevils," Ryder added just for the fun of it.

Sid pursed his lips. "I'd rather be a pirate dork than a _law-abiding citizen_ ," he mocked. "Dude c'mon, you have a freaking ATV. Why aren't you racing people with it?"

"Cause it's dangerous?"

"Or maybe you know you'd lose."

Ryder argued, "More like I know I'd win, and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings."

Sid's mouth dropped open just a little bit. He looked at Katie and Danny. "Did you guys hear that? I think baby Ryder was trying to trash talk."

Katie sighed. "We've gotten off topic, guys."

The pirate downed the last of his drink and tossed the bottle to the side. "I accept your challenge, Ryder. First one to your beach tower thing wins."

Ryder smirked. "You're on."


	2. t-shirts

Ryder was outside working on his ATV. Just as he was getting used to the silence, Katie's eager voice cut through the air and startled the boy.

"Ryder!" she called, all but skipping up the Lookout's driveway.

The boy pushed out from beneath the ATV and smiled at his friend. "Hey, Katie. What's up?"

"I have a surprise for you!" She grabbed the cloth tucked beneath her arm. "Danny and I came up with a club name."

Ryder chuckled. "This again?" He climbed to his feet and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I don't really think we're a club, Katie. We're more of a… Frenemy social group."

"Call it what you want, but now it has a title." With a grin, she unfolded a T shirt and held it in front of her face. "We are the ABOs."

"ABOs?"

She tossed the shirt over her arm. "Stands for Adventure Bay Orphans."

Ryder snorted. "Geez, Katie!"

"Danny thought it would appeal to our generation's dark humor."

He shook his head, an amused grin fighting its way to his face. "You know if we wear those and someone asks what ABOs means, we'll be sent straight to therapy?"

"Maybe that can be our next adventure!"

"Good luck getting Sid to agree to it."

Katie smirked. "I don't know, I think I can _persuade_ him."

"Gross."

"Shut up."

She handed the shirt over and turned on her heel. "I'll see you tonight!"

Just as she began the long walk back to her store, Ryder called out, "Hey, Katie?"

"Hm?"

Katie turned and gazed up at him. Ryder rubbed the back of his neck.

"Do you wanna hangout?"

She smiled. "Sure! Anything in particular you wanna do?"

"No." He shook his head and looked around the yard. "The silence is just killing me."

Her face softened. She walked back up the hill and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Only two more months, Ryder."

He laughed humorlessly. "You make it seem like this won't be the longest summer of my life."

"Oh, I have an idea! Why don't you let me take your ATV for a test drive, hm? I'm thinking of getting one of my own."

Ryder smirked. "Really?"

"Yeah! Then I can join you and Sid for a race!"

The boy chuckled. "Yeah, maybe. Sure, let's go for a ride."

"Yes!"


	3. fears

The ABOs laid on a blanket Katie had brought from her shop. They were in a circle, heads side-by-side, barely touching. For a while, they laid in silence, staring at the starry sky above and enjoying the wordless company of the others.

Then, Danny broke it. "Biggest fear," he breathed, almost like the request itself wasn't supposed to be said. "Go."

Katie took a breath. "Heights."

Ryder rolled his head over to look at her. "Really?"

"I can handle a little bit of height… Or riding in a helicopter harness as long as I'm back on the ground quickly," she explained with a laugh.

Ryder snickered. "Yeah, that's usually what most people say."

"I feel like we won't get an answer from Ryder," Danny declared.

"Maybe, but I feel like we're less likely to get an answer from _you_ ," Katie added.

"Right, yeah, 'cause you two have to be like adrenaline junkies, right?" Sid questioned.

"Danny is, I'm not," Ryder corrected. "I've just… Done a lot of scary stuff to the point where it's not scary anymore."

Danny pursed his lips. "So, in other words, no fear?"

"Not quite…" Ryder sighed. "Hospitals."

Sid and Katie's faces scrunched in confusion, but Danny voiced their thoughts, "Wait, so, you can go _skydiving_ , but _hospitals_ freak you out?"

Ryder shrugged. "I've never been in one, but I've met a doctor who works at the one in Oceanview, and he was really mean."

Sid cackled. "So, a mean doctor just automatically spells danger for you?"

"That, and all the stories we were told by the nuns. They made sure we never got hurt."

A confused silence fell over the group. Ryder realized his mistake, and he laughed nervously.

"Umm Sid, your turn," he urged, desperate for the subject change.

"Wait, no—" Danny argued.

"Nuns?" Katie questioned.

"Sid," Ryder begged.

The pirate sighed. "Okay, fine. I have this, uh, love-hate relationship with water."

Ryder frowned. "But… You _live_ on the water."

"Not voluntarily, mate."

Danny hummed, an amused smile on his face. "I see there's some tragic backstories we have yet to unlock."

"What's _your_ biggest fear, huh?" Sid challenged.

Danny chewed on his lip as he gazed at the stars. There wasn't really much he was afraid of, so he needed a minute to think of something.

Finally, "Death."

"That makes less sense than mine," Ryder declared.

"Yeah, I agree. You're always risking your life to do a stunt, and you're scared of death?" Katie questioned. "That doesn't add up."

"Death… Has so much power."

His friends stilled and listened carefully.

"It ruins families. Something as powerful as that has to be scary, right?"

Ryder and Katie's eyebrows furrowed. They didn't realize it, but at that same moment, they tried recalling anything they could about Danny's family. Who did he live with? What happened to his parents? They gathered nothing useful.

Looked like that was another tragic backstory to add to the list.


	4. nightmare

_Ryder's hand hurt a lot._

 _"_ _Next time don't be so reckless."_

 _There were five stitches in his palm, just below his pinkie._

 _"_ _It wasn't my fault! The deck broke!"_

 _He remembered the doctor standing at the doorway, smirking as he tucked a fifty dollar bill into his coat pocket. Sister Anderson smiled warmly at him as she shut the front door._

 _"_ _You aren't allowed to play with the others until you fix the deck."_

 _His hand still hurt._


End file.
